Spring Birding Support poster - bit.ly/NI-spring-birding-26
Booking is now open for our Spring Birding Support sessions!
These are happening across NI between now and the end of June, giving you the chance to head out with a small group of people and develop your skills.
Check out bit.ly/NI-spring-birding-26 for more information and to book your place.
Urban dog (l) and vixen (r) Fox, by Garden BirdWatcher Peter Allan
It's National Mammal Week!🐾
Red Foxes are on the rise in urban gardens! These adaptable mammals are now found in around 1 in 4 UK gardens.
Did you know GBW also monitors mammals?
Start your list today and help us find out how they are using your gardens.
📸Peter Allen, Garden BirdWatcher
The graphic displays four images of Puffins showcasing the different recording units for them on SMP surveys. These are IND (individuals on land at the colony), AOB (apparently occupied burrows), SEA (individuals on the sea adjacent to the colony), and AIR (individuals flying over the colony).
Puffin colony count surveys are recommended from April 30th. Multiple survey methods and recording units can be used to monitor them. Take a look at the graphic below to visualise the different units! ⬇️ #seabirds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social
The forecast is looking good for this coming week, maybe it's time for your early BBS visit? Check out David's experience and feel free to share your own with us!
Thank you for surveying your BBS square Joe, it is very much appreciated. David W, BBS Team
Thank you very much for completing your Early Visit to your square Brian, it is much appreciated. It looks like you had great weather for it! David W, BBS Team
Great pictures of Brown Hares Mick! David W
Thank you very much for completing your early visit to your square Stuart, it is very much appreciated. David W, BBS Team
An image of a Brown Hare. It has golden brown fur, amber eyes and black tips to its ears. It is standing alert on the ground.
It’s National Mammal Week! We are able to produce trends for nine mammal species across the UK. Find out more about mammal recording on BBS squares: www.bto.org/get-invo... @btobirds.bsky.social JNCC RSPB Science Mammal Society #NationalMammalWeek
A map showing the migration of Cuckoo Jim from the UK to Africa and back again, with his current location in the UK. A headshot of Cuckoo Jim features, alongside the wording: After making his way steadily north through France, Jim launched across The Channel from Bayeux and arrived on the coast near Worthing on 16 April! From here, he headed to West Sussex, and is just 7 miles from where he was tagged last May.
Another BTO Cuckoo has touched down in the UK! 🙌
To sponsor a Cuckoo and follow their migrations on our interactive map visit www.bto.org/cuckoos. Thank you. 💚 #Ornithology #UKBirding 🪶
It is a very interesting one with Willow Warbler. They are now becoming comparatively scarce in Eastern England where BTO HQ is. The whole population seems to be moving northwards and westwards through the UK. It would be a shame to lose them in the southern and eastern UK! David W, BBS Team
Deep dive into 50 years of butterfly data from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme 📊🦋
The official results, plus fascinating talks on the latest developments in butterfly research and conservation, are now available to watch here 👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_Aj...
#UKBMS50 #UKBRM
🚨New feature in WeBS Report Online 🚨
You can now look at Roosts that have been entered into WeBS Roosts online. Simply go into WeBS Report Online and click on the roosts tab. Here, you can zoom in and look at roosts in your area.
(3/) You can find out more about how common bird populations across the UK are changing in the 2025 BBS Report: www.bto.org/bbs-report
An image of a Jay is shown. It is a pink bird with a black moustache. It has blue panels on its wings. A map of England is shown. An arrow shows that Jay declined across the country by 11% 1995-2024. A map of Scotland is shown. It states that Jay increased by 479% across the country by 479% 1995-2024. The title says: ‘Jay trends’. The BBS logo also features a drawing of a Goldfinch.
(2/) Both of these species are showing signs of decline across England. However, they are both increasing in Scotland. What could be behind this change in fortunes between the south and the north of the UK?
An image of a Bullfinch is shown. It has a pink belly and a black cap. It is perched on the ground. A map of England is shown. It features a downward arrow, which states that this species declined across England by 43% 1995-2024. A map of Scotland is shown, with an arrow that says this species increased by 55% across Scotland between 1995-2024. The title says: ‘Bullfinch trends’. The BBS logo also features a drawing of a Goldfinch.
(1/) Two shy but colourful species with pink in their plumage, Bullfinch and Jay, are currently showing signs of contrasting fortunes in different parts of the UK. Read on to find out more about these often sought after species. @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social
2/ Around 300 @bbs-birds.bsky.social a year volunteers contribute to UKBMS by doing a Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey on their square. But you don't have to be a BBS volunteer. If you can ID butterflies and can commit to 2x~2hour walks a year (Jul+Aug) contact bbs@bto.org
👉 www.bto.org/wcbs
1/The decline of specialist butterflies and the diversity that goes with it is a damning indictment of the state of our countryside. This comes from 1 of the gold-standard sources of evidence: 50 years of the UKBMS @ukbms.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social
1/ The latest 2024/25 Waterbirds in the UK report has just been published and can be viewed online www.bto.org/wituk 🎉
Physical copies will be reaching your doorsteps very soon! 🗞️
To view the updated numbers and trends, visit www.bto.org/webs-reporting
#Ornithology #CitSci
David from the BBS Team did his ‘Early’ visit to his BBS square in Cambridgeshire this past weekend. Despite (almost) falling in a hole, watch this video to see just how much fun he had whilst he was out surveying. @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social #Ornithology
The graphic shows a Puffin with its English and Latin names (Fratercula arctica). There is a key facts box on the graphic that covers their wingspan, lifespan, diet, breeding behaviour, seasonality, and UK breeding abundance.
Perhaps our most familiar and charismatic auks, these bright-billed burrow nesters certainly catch the eye!
Find out more about Puffins in the graphic below and by visiting their BTO BirdFacts page: www.bto.org/learn/about-... #seabirds @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social
If you like bioacoustics, you will love this issue of Bird Census News. It also features the work of @bbs-birds.bsky.social volunteers who are putting out PAM recorders on squares in Scotland, with the aim of seeing if PAM can augment traditional monitoring, especially in hard-to-reach places.
Looking as picturesque as ever Stephen! Thanks so much for your continued support for BBS. It is very much appreciated! David W, BBS Team
(4/) You can find out more about how common bird population across the UK, are changing in the 2025 BBS Report: www.bto.org/bbs-report
A Green Woodpecker is shown. It has a green body, a red cap, a black head and a grey face. It is perched on the ground facing right. A map of England is shown, along with a down arrow that states that this species declined by 35% 2014-204. The title says: ‘Green Woodpecker.’ The BBS logo also features a drawing of a Goldfinch.
(3/) The possible reasons why Green Woodpeckers are declining in England are currently quite challenging to determine. It may be related to the availability of food, but more research will need to be done to prove this.
A Green Woodpecker is shown. It has a green body, a red cap, a black head and a grey face. It is perched on a branch facing left. The title says: ‘Green Woodpecker.’ The BBS logo also features a drawing of a Goldfinch.
(2/) On the other hand, the vibrantly coloured and noisy Green Woodpecker has experienced a noticeable decline across England. It declined by 35% across the country between 2014–2024.
An image of a Great Spotted Woodpecker is shown. It is a mainly black and white bird with a creamy white breast. It has a red belly. It has two white spots on its back. A map of the UK is shown. The text says: Woodpeckers: Great Spotted Woodpecker 124% increase 1995-2024 UK. The BBS logo also features a drawing of a Goldfinch.
(1/) It’s hammer time! Great Spotted Woodpeckers continue to increase across the UK. This distinctive species is even being seen more regularly in Northern Ireland, where it used to be very scarce. @btobirds.bsky.social @jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social #Ornithology #CitizenScience
A Goldinch on a branch. To the left a title 'Goldfinch: England'. A Graph of the BBS index showing the rapid population growth between 1994 and 2018, followed by a slight decline.
4/ On the other side of the coin, Goldfinch has increased markedly in all parts of the UK, and has been a beneficiary of garden feeding. However, at least in Southern England, there are signs that this species is either stabilising or even beginning to decline itself.
A male chaffinch sits on a twig. To the right a BBS index plot showing an increase from 1994 to 2007, similar to Greenfinch, but then a rapid decline of 50% in the last 10 years, and which started slightly later (~2012/13). As above, there is a map of England behind and a title 'Chaffinch: England'
3/ But just because Greenfinch might be turning a corner, doesn't mean the problem isn't there. Chaffinch has declined by 50% in the last 10 years, it too having declined due to Finch Trichomonosis and that decline continues...
2/ @bbs-birds.bsky.social data shows that Greenfinch in England declined by 66% 2008–2018, mainly due to the disease Trichomonosis. Recent advice from @rspb.bsky.social
bsky.app/profile/rspb... is based on a wide range of evidence, including BBS. However, are there are signs of a recovery?
